Ligustrum plant named ‘Sunshine’

ABSTRACT

A new and distinct cultivar of  Ligustrum  plant named ‘Sunshine’, characterized by its mixture of yellow green and medium green-colored growing season foliage, lack of flower production, and compact growth habit.

Latin name of genus and species of plant claimed: Ligustrum sinense.

Variety denomination: ‘Sunshine’.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Ligustrum plant botanically known as Ligustrum sinense and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name ‘Sunshine’.

The new cultivar selected by the inventor originated in a controlled selection program in Zebulon, N.C. during 2002.

The new Ligustrum cultivar is a naturally occurring sport of an unnamed Ligustrum sinense characterized by its medium green-colored growing season foliage, flower and fruit production, and dense thicket-like growth habit. The new cultivar was discovered as a branch sport and selected in July 2002 in an outdoor, commercial nursery located in Zebulon, N.C.

Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by terminal stem cuttings since July 2002 at McCracken Nursery, Zebulon, N.C. has demonstrated that the new cultivar reproduces true to type with all of the characteristics, as herein described, firmly fixed and retained through successive generations of such asexual propagation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The following characteristics of the new cultivar have been repeatedly observed and can be used to distinguish ‘Sunshine’ as a new and distinct cultivar of Ligustrum plant:

-   -   1. A mixture of yellow green and medium green-colored growing         season foliage;     -   2. Lack of flower production; and     -   3. Compact growth habit.

Plants of the new cultivar differ from plants of the parent primarily in foliage coloration and sterility.

Of the many commercially available Ligustrum sinense known to the inventor, the most similar in comparison to the new cultivar is the unnamed parent Ligustrum sinense. However, in side by side comparisons, plants of the new cultivar differ from plants of Ligustrum sinense in the following characteristics:

1. Plants of the new cultivar have a mixture of yellow green and medium green-colored growing season foliage, while the plants of Ligustrum sinense have medium green-colored growing season foliage; and

2. Plants of the new cultivar are sterile, while plants of Ligustrum sinense bare flowers and fruit.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PHOTOGRAPHS

The accompanying photographs show, as nearly true as it is reasonably possible to make the same in color illustrations of this type, typical flower and foliage characteristics of the new cultivar. Colors in the photographs differ slightly from the color values cited in the detailed description, which accurately describes the colors of ‘Sunshine’. The plants were grown in a landscape setting for five years in Zebulon, N.C.

FIG. 1 illustrates the overall growth and habit of ‘Sunshine’.

FIG. 2 illustrates a close-up view of leaves of ‘Sunshine’.

DETAILED BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION

The new cultivar has not been observed under all possible environmental conditions to date. Accordingly, it is possible that the phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in the environment, such as temperature, light intensity, and day length, without, however, any variance in genotype.

The chart used in the identification of colors described herein is The R.H.S. Colour Chart of The Royal Horticultural Society, London, England, 2001 edition, except where general color terms of ordinary significance are used. The color values were determined under natural light conditions.

The following descriptions and measurements describe the initial selected cultivar Sunshine. The plant size and description are based on plants grown for approximately 5 years in Zebulon, N.C.

-   Botanical classification: Ligustrum sinense cultivar Sunshine. -   Parentage:     -   -   Parent.—Ligustrum sinense. -   Propagation:     -   -   Type cutting.—Terminal stem.         -   Time to initiate roots.—Approximately 10 to 15 days.         -   Time to produce a rooted cutting.—Approximately 20 to 30             days.         -   Root description.—Fibrous.         -   Rooting habit.—Freely branching. -   Plant description:     -   -   Commercial crop time.—Approximately 4 to 8 weeks from a             rooted cutting to a finished 5 cm pot.         -   Growth habit and general appearance.—Semi-evergreen to             evergreen shrub. Compact habit compared to species.         -   Growth rate.—0.1 m to 0.3 m per year.         -   Hardiness.—USDA zone 7A.         -   Size.—Height from soil level to top of plant plane:             Approximately 1.2 m to 1.5 m. Width: Approximately 1.2 m to             1.5 m.         -   Branching habit.—Quantity of branches per plant: 9 main             branches with greater than 50 lateral branches. Freely             branching, pinching enhances basal branching.         -   Lateral branches.—Shape: Round. Strength: Moderate. Length:             Approximately 30 cm. Diameter: Approximately 3.5 cm. Length             of central internode: 1.3 cm. Texture: New growth has downy             pubescence, mature stems have glandular pubescence. Color of             young stem: 166A. Color of mature stem: N199A. -   Foliage description:     -   -   General description.—Fragrance: None. Form: Elliptic-oblong.             Arrangement: Opposite.         -   Leaves.—Aspect: Petiole is at acute angle to stem and leaf             blade perpendicular to stem. Shape: Elliptic-oblong. Margin:             Smooth, entire with undulation. Apex: Acute to rounded             occasionally retuse. Base: Attenuate. Venation pattern:             Pinnate. Length of mature leaf: Approximately 3.0 cm. Width             of mature leaf: Approximately 1.6 cm. Texture of upper and             lower surfaces: Glabrous. Color of upper surface of summer             foliage: 146A fading with full sun exposure to closest to             14A, and with venation indistinguishable from the color of             the remainder of the leaf surface. Color of lower surface of             summer foliage: 17D with venation indistinguishable from the             color of the remainder of the leaf surface. Color of upper             surface of winter foliage: Closest to 146A with venation             indistinguishable from the color of the remainder of the             leaf surface. Color of lower surface of winter foliage:             Closest to 146C and 146B with venation indistinguishable             from the color of the remainder of the leaf surface.         -   Petiole.—Length: Approximately 3.0 mm. Diameter: Less than             1 cm. Texture: Glabrous. Color: 137C fading with sun             exposure to closest to 9B and with venation             indistinguishable from the color of the remainder of the             leaf surface. -   Flowering description: No flowers have been observed. -   Disease and pest resistance: Resistance to pathogens and pests     common to Ligustrum has not been observed. 

1. A new and distinct cultivar of Ligustrum plant named ‘Sunshine’, substantially as herein shown and described. 